The poem talks about death, presented in the form of a gentleman who rides a chariot coming to pick the speaker in the poem. The two travel in a rather relaxed and steady pace that allows for the speaker to see the surrounding environment and for poetry. The two ride together across town and even see the children playing as they ride out the daylight to a chilly night. When the chariot comes to a halt, it is at the speaker’s grave which Emily Dickinson presents as a house emerging from the ground with no clear roof and she realizes it has been centuries.
Style is one of the the main point of focus when reading through a poem for the first time (Jason, 2003). In this poem, the poet (Emily) describes a ladies life as she rides to her burial place. The time is ripe for the speaking voice in the poem to die and death (the chariot) to pick her; evident from the heading “Because I did not stop for death.” In reading a poem, different images run in one’s mind, the speaker, time frame, mood, tone and even sense aspect. One might easily misunderstand the time point of the poem up until it becomes apparent that the ride in the chariot is the lady’s life as she nears her sunset.
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Poetic shifts and metaphors at times pose a challenge in staying within the theme of the poem. When the two get used correctly, they impose a given picture in the reader's mind (Jason, 2003). In this poem, there is a shift regarding attitude at the sixth stanza from a peaceful and comfortable state to a state of startling enlightenment. Emily Dickinson from her topic tries to suggest an individual who has managed to cheat death. As a result, death has to find her. Death comes riding a chariot, and the two take a long journey across time. With the setting of the sun, comes the end of life. The sense in this poem comes at the end when the sun sets and the speaker are in her grave thinking of how the journey has been long yet still she could not cheat death.
Reference
Jason, P. (2003). Critical survey of poetry (1st ed.). Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press.
